April 21, 2008

Since I was mentioned in the Post story I can offer my account of the McCain-Grassley argument.... The precise point of disagreement between the Senators was over a man name Robert Garwood. Senator Grassley believed he was a hero whose reputation was destroyed by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Senator McCain believed him to a traitor who caused prisoners (like Senator McCain) to receive additional encounters with torture. Both Senators were extremely angry. Senator McCain was explosive (who wouldn't be?) but at no time threatening. Most important: McCain won the argument. My experience is that his anger always has a purpose and in this case the purpose was to defeat Senator Grassley's argument which he did decisively.

25 comments:

Kerrey risks having his Democratic credentials revoked. He may join Joe Lieberman in the Kos penalty box.

I liked Kerrey before based on his pragmatic common sense and his war record.

For your folks under 50, this isn't the same Kerry.

Bob Kerrey was a Navy Seal in Vietnam who lost his leg in an operation for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Part of the citation:

In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team in 2 elements and coordinating both, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy's camp. Just as they neared the end of their descent, intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lt. (jg.) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade that exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element's fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radio, Lt. (jg.) Kerrey called in the second element's fire support, which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire. After successfully suppressing the enemy's fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lt. (jg.) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter.

While he was Governor of Nebraska, Kerrey dated actress Debra Winger while the latter was in Lincoln filming Terms of Endearment (part of which is set in Nebraska), which won the 1983 Oscar for Best Picture. When confronted with intense questioning by the press over the nature of the relationship, Kerrey famously replied; "What can I say — she swept me off my foot," alluding to the fact that the lower part of one of his legs was amputated due to injuries sustained in his Medal of Honor action in Vietnam.

So we have a year in which we shall get to vote for a man whose righteous anger can fuel his drive to accomplish great things or a woman whose anger explodes crockery or a man who has so swallowed all his anger that he sees bitterness everywhere?

“My dad was tortured in prison; he doesn’t overreact to things. So if he starts freaking out, you know it’s time to freak out,” she says. “And I think he’s freaking out about the environment. He’s like, ‘I’m genuinely worried about climate change; it’s happening right now.’” — Meghan McCain

It's an anger buffet, this political season. Which dish is more popular? Which buffet pan will empty first? And, in the case of the latter, will it be due to popularity, or because one of the chefs didn't make enough?

If this were a blogpost and not a comment, I'd 1) go on just a bit more and 2) consider as one of the titles "Feast Or Famine?".

My father, also a career Naval Officer, had a quick, explosive temper until his 60's, but never exchanged an angry word with my late mother. The step-monster's tantrums may have worn him down, but it's probably testosterone drop-off.